Dark Reign
by Mokusan
Summary: The Xiaolin boys are sent tumbling into the future via the Sands of Time and discover that the world has been taken over by a new evil. The boys must call upon unexpected aid so that they may return to the past and set things right before it's too late.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.  
**A/N:** This is a prolouge to my newest fic. Jack-centric, though it may not seem to be at first. This is for Emmy, who would have strangled me had I done otherwise. I hope that future chapters will be longer, though I promise nothing.

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Dark Reign: Prolouge

He stared down at his hand in boredom. It was a good, strong hand, calloused by years of work and training. The pair was far stronger than those he had possessed ten years ago and would have been more than enough to defeat _them_, provided that _they_ had still been around. As it were, _they_ had been absent from his world for twelve years. He doubted _they_ were ever coming back.

His hand fell back upon the armrest of his chair as he stared through narrowed eyes about the room. It was a dark place, though modern and entirely up-to-date. He had decided that the stone castle bit was entirely overdone and that it was only one of the many mistakes Wuya had made during her short reign. He was not going to make those mistakes.

The very thought of the Heylin witch triggered a low and threatening growl deep within his throat. That mad-woman had almost cost him everything and for what? A few days as world leader all because some brat of a Dragon had made off with a few Shen Gong Wu? He calmed, reminding himself that he had achieved his rule on his own. There had been no minions (though he could hardly say that now). The Shen Gong Wu and his mechanical army were all he needed.

Even so, he would confess (if only to himself) that things had become steadily lonelier. He had never had a friend and as such could not be saddened by the absence of them. He had, however, had enemies and even their abrupt disappearance had left him to mope for days on end. After all, what good was ruling the world if no one was there to challenge you?

Rebellions had popped up, though nothing that was worth his time and effort of ridding. There was no possible way for them to steal his Shen Gong Wu, and seeing as that there were none left, the only ones left to challenge him were locked away in a puzzle box, trapped inside an deep sea cave or had vanished off the face of the earth by means beyond his control.

Means beyond his control. The very thought was enough to force a harsh laugh from his lips. He ruled the world; there wasn't much left that he didn't dictate. Not even the largest army had been able to stop his growing reign; every country trembled before his power like school children trapped in the dark.

He stood, slowly making his way across the room to the large door on the opposite side. The door itself was made of glass, tinted so that only he could see through to the world beyond. It was almost a pointless feature as he had eliminated the sun years ago with the use of the Lunar Locket. Now the world had been tossed into the same darkness that shrouded his own black heart. Perhaps it was not a fair action to take, but ruling the world had no rules to abide by and he would do as he pleased.

The man twisted the elaborate knob, pulling the door toward him. A slight breeze kissed his face and he closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax as he took a deep breath. Ruling the world, it seemed, was quite a stressful job. Not because he was trying to be fair, per say, but there were plenty of complaints to deal with and things to fix, regardless as to how smoothly everything _should_ have gone.

The balcony before him stood over the massive garden of the palace. Below him plants and flowers stretched out in all directions, kept alive from the Shen Gong Wu's magic alone. Everyone grew their food indoors these days and thus his ridding of the sun hardly scratched the food industry.

He opened his eyes and stepped out onto the balcony. Walking over to the edge, he placed his hands on the railing, peering out at the world before him, trapped in an eternal night. The view was calming, in a sense. It increased his feeling of control, reassured him that this absolute rule was not a dream.

The night air was cold, though his attire kept him snugly warm. A black trench coat fell to brush his ankles, the brown buttons clasped from neck to hips. A thick black scarf was wound around his neck, his black boots adding an inch or so to his towering height. The black gloves that encompassed his hands left no skin revealed.

As he looked upon the garden his mind wandered to the minute boredom that total domination tended to provide. Even terrorizing the servants had lost its appeal which made him question his sanity; no evil ruler turned down such an opportunity. Then again, they never screamed in a new way and it was almost redundant after so many times. But there was no other music that could quite fill the void that yells of pain and agony generally occupied.

A soft cough from behind him disturbed his silence as well as his good mood. With a snarl he turned on his heel, hands curled into fists. "What do you want?"

"S-Sir, there are intruders..." The servant - who was really more of a slave - swallowed, his trembling visible in spite of the dark surroundings.

"Really." The ruler's good mood slowly ebbed back. "Who are they?"

"We believe it is _them_, Sir."

"Excellent." The twisted grin that formed on his face mirrored the absolute madness in his red eyes. At last his revenge would come, and upon those who had doubted him most, no less.

When he had said he was going to rule the world, Jack Spicer hadn't been kidding.


End file.
